Nigerian defence-tech startup expands drone production into Ghana

Nigerian defence-tech startup Terra Industries is expanding into Ghana with a new manufacturing facility for drones and other autonomous systems. The company has raised $34 million in funding so far, with the latest $22 million extension led by US venture capital firm Lux Capital. Its previous $11.75 million round was led by 8VC. Terra develops drones, surveillance systems and autonomous ground vehicles for security and infrastructure monitoring. The company is now putting more money into manufacturing as it looks to sell its technology across African markets.

Terra’s new Ghana factory

Terra is building a 34,000-square-foot factory in Accra called Pax-2. The facility will manufacture some of its existing products, including the Archer VTOL and Iroko UAV drones. It will also produce Kama, a counter-drone system designed to intercept other unmanned aircraft. Terra expects the facility to eventually produce up to 50,000 aerial systems a year and create around 120 engineering jobs. That is a significant increase from its current manufacturing footprint. The company already operates Pax-1, its first manufacturing facility, in Abuja.

What Terra is building

Terra is targeting customers that need to monitor large areas or protect physical infrastructure. Its technology is being developed for sectors including mining and energy, where companies often have large sites that need constant surveillance. The company also makes autonomous ground vehicles and surveillance systems. Its ArtemisOS software brings information from its different systems together, allowing customers to manage the technology from one platform. This gives Terra more than one product to sell to customers. A company could use its drones for aerial surveillance while using ground systems and other sensors to monitor the same site.

Ghana gives the company another base

The move into Ghana gives Terra manufacturing capacity outside Nigeria. The company is also working with Nigeria’s Defence Industries Corporation on local assembly and training. For Terra, having operations in both countries could make it easier to supply customers elsewhere in West Africa. It also puts the company closer to Ghana’s growing technology and manufacturing sector.

Terra is also building counter-drone technology

Drones are not only being used for surveillance. Terra is developing systems designed to stop them. Its Kama interceptor is built to target other drones, with the company saying it can reach speeds of up to 300km/h. The need for this type of equipment has grown as drones have become cheaper and easier to deploy. Mining sites, energy infrastructure, airports and other sensitive locations all have to consider what happens when an unauthorised drone enters their airspace. For Terra, that creates another market alongside its surveillance products.

The funding is going into hardware

Terra’s funding is being used to build a business that needs factories, equipment and engineers. That makes its expansion different from the software and fintech startups that have dominated African venture capital in recent years. The Ghana facility will now have to prove that Terra can turn its manufacturing plans into actual sales. Producing 50,000 systems a year is one thing. Finding enough customers to buy them is another. For Terra, the next stage is about getting more of its products into the market and building a customer base across Africa.